Starry Seas
by RubineCoronet
Summary: Tokyo is a big change from Iwatobi and not all changes are that easy. But as long as Makoto and Haruka have each other everything will be okay. A journey throughout their live together, starting with university and the dream of the olypmics. Makoharu/Slow Build/Post-Canon/Developing Relationship


_Starry Seas_

"The tides are in our veins"

Robinson Jeffers

Prologue

 _The world is so big and yet so small at the same time. While there are millions and millions of lives surrounding us we can always be certain that some people will never leave us. Even when they might not be physical there – they will always be in our hearts. We might want to forget, but our hearts don´t forget. They simply bury some feelings so deep in themselves that we might think we have forgotten. But we haven´t and never will. Someday we will remember. We will remember that one person that is different from all the others. We love them. And even when we are miles apart – we will find us._

 _That is a promise._

Tokyo was 713 kilometres away from Iwatobi and yet it seemed as if worlds separated both places. Where Iwatobi stretched out between the endless green of the soft hills along the coast, Tokyo was an endless grey sea itself, alive with blinking lights and roaring waves of peoples.

Instead of a cosy house hidden in an intertwined labyrinth of stony steps and archways with no street near, where, when barely breathing at night you could hear the soft murmur of the ocean, living in Tokyo was dominated by small apartments, thin walls and the perennial traffic noise, where not the slightest whisper of the water could be heard.

In Iwatobi there had been always enough space to walk or simply breathe, but in Tokyo there were always flocks of people, pushing, shoving, eager to reach their destination. If one was incautious the current could sweep him away.

At least that was what Haru felt. He would have terribly missed the comfort of his hometown, if there wouldn´t be that one thing which Tokyo had and Iwatobi couldn´t have – Makoto. When Tokyo was the stormy sea then Makoto was the safe harbour. And so Haru had decided that Tokyo couldn´t be too bad. He was not alone, that was all that counted.

Chapter 1 – Set Sail

Rain drizzled softly against the windows. Outside it was rapidly growing dark and the blue night was only broken by the blurred lights in the near distance. Makoto was yet again thankful not to be living in the universities dorms amidst the hectic trouble that the city was. He preferred going by metro or even walking to his faculty if that meant living where the streets where quieter.

At this day though he wouldn´t have minded a bit hurly-burly. After all it was his birthday. A handful of his colleagues had remembered and had pooled their money for a birthday cake, which he hadn´t expected and was truly grateful for. Rin had sent him a message repeating over how sorry he was not being able to call but he had competitions. Rei and Nagisa had called which led to an hour exchanging news about Iwatobi and Tokyo. His parent's couldn´t come and visit, which was unfortunate but understandable as they couldn´t just take a day off and travel all that way, especially since the twins had school. Not that he felt left out or anything, but still he missed the crazy birthday parties Nagisa had thrown in High school – even though he would never admit that to him.

It had been half a year since he´d last seen anyone from Iwatobi and yes, he missed them. Ren and Rans bickering, his mother's tasty cooking as well as his father's imaginative stories he liked to tell as if they were true, not to mention his other friends. Although they often called it was not the same. His parents had called just this very morning before he left for university to shower him with hearty congratulations, even Ren and Ran, normally true sleepyheads, had been awake. Also he´d received a parcel filled with presents he now sat pondering over.

A nice deep red sweater laid by his side on the floor, together with his favourite candy – chocolate, markers in ten different shades and a picture drawn by the twins showing a fantastic underwater world, full with merman and mermaids.

Haru would surely like that picture he found himself thinking. Swimming all day – Haru had never understood how Ariel could give up her fin when they were little. At this old memory resurfacing a gentle smile adorned his face. He told himself to show Haru the picture next time he visited. Haru. That was the one person missing in all of this. He hadn´t called all day, not that Makoto had expected him to. The other wasn´t especially fond of his phone and therefore even forgot it often. Moreover Haru was not someone to remember birthdays. Makoto knew that, of course, but still he couldn´t ignore the twitching in his stomach. They were best friends after all, weren´t they?

Sighing he shook his head, driving out the unpleasant thoughts. Haru would never forget his birthday on purpose. With this resolution he returned his attention to his parcel.

The only thing now remaining in it was his old gaming console, which he originally had left in Iwatobi, for Ran and Ren to play with. But due to their constant nagging they now had an own one. It had been a long time since he´d played videogames. Most of his free time now consisted of studying. Whether there was an exam or a group project – there was always something that needed to be done.

Even though seven months had passed by now he still couldn´t say that he was used to the pressure. Sighing once more he pushed his bangs out of his face and decided to let go of his worries about grades just for this evening.

He´d just set the console up and inserted the new game his parents had presented him, as he heard his doorbell ring. Startled he paused. His gaze went to the clock on his wall. It was already past eight. Who would visit that late? If that happened to be another one of those importunate doorstep sellers…

But instead it was his neighbour Mrs. Tanaka. The elderly lady lived in the apartment next to his. She always had a friendly smile on her lips and also often had a bonbon or two to spare. Now she stood on his doorstep, smiling as usual and holding a small present wrapped in colourful paper in her hands.

"Makoto," she happily greeted him.

"Happy birthday!"

He sheepishly grinned at her.

"Thank you so very much, Mrs. Tanaka, I really appreciate that!"

He bowed before taking the present.

"Ah, that is nothing! You´re always such a nice young man, you deserve it," she waved at him.

Blushing Makoto asked politely "Would you like to have a tea? I can brew some…"

But his words got cut short as Mrs. Tanaka energetic shook her head and added with a shrug in direction of the stairwell, "That´s very nice, but I have to decline. It seems like you get a visitor anyways."

And with a small bow Mrs. Tanaka left a stunned Makoto, just in the moment as Haru reached his floor.

"Haru!" Makoto exclaimed in surprise upon sight of his best friend.

He could feel a wide smile break out of him. He hadn´t expected to see Haru, especially not after their last talk had been already two days ago. Or was it just two days? It didn´t matter, it felt like an eternity. Seeing each other every day back in Iwatobi it left a strange feeling in Makoto to know that Haru was there but not being with him. There were times when he found himself wondering what Haru was doing just now. Of course they wrote each other and talked, when Makoto called him of course. But the times actually spending time together were restricted now, with Haru training hard and Makoto going to university.

And now Haru stood there in the yellow light of the stairwell, his usual composed expression on his face. Fast Makoto stepped aside, inviting Haru into his apartment.

"What are you doing here?" he began to question as he closed the door "you could´ve called, I would have bought some food!"

But more he couldn´t manage to say as Haru interrupted him with his usual silent and direct voice,

"Makoto."

A small but gentle smile touched his lips as he continued, "happy birthday."

Makoto could feel the tips of his ears redden. He had not forgotten. No, he really had come to wish him a happy birthday. A warm feeling spread through his chest. He felt bad for even thinking that Haru had simply forgotten – or even worse, that he did not care enough.

"Ah thank you, Haru!"

Happily he answered Haru´s smile with an even bigger one.

"Do you want a tea?"

Haru had already dropped his bag and was wandering of into the living room as he murmured, "water is fine."

Makoto carefully placed Mrs. Tanaka´s present on a shelf and went humming into his small kitchen to get water for Haru. Upon his return he found him sitting cross-legged on the floor, shuffling through Makoto´s videogames. He let himself down next to Haru, placing the water in between them.

"Everything okay?"

Haru simply nodded, but Makoto could tell that he truly meant it. It had always been this way, that he´d read in Haru´s behaviour rather than his words.

"Just tired," added Haru after a little break. Then he grabbed something from the floor that Makoto hadn´t noticed earlier, "still wanted to give you your present though."

With these words he reached him a quadratic, flat package.

"But Haru!" Makoto objected, just as every year. He´d always protest against receiving presents from his friends but himself he would put an incredible amount of thought, let alone money, into his own presents.

Yet the other shook his head and then sternly looked him in the eye.

"No protest Makoto, just open it already."

Makoto averted his gaze back from Haru´s intense blue eyes to the present in his hands.

Another "but Haru!" escaped him, this time however not really serious.

Haru went back to shuffling through the games, while Makoto admired the handiwork which with the wrapping paper had been folded. His own presents tended to look like someone had accidentally sat on them. Carefully, avoiding ripping the blue wrapping paper, he removed the paper. A simple CD, without cover or any further information fell into his hands.

"Huh?"

"Ah, that is…"

Was Makoto imaging it or were Haru´s cheeks slightly pinkish now?

"… just a bit of nature sounds, nothing much."

It took a moment for Makoto to remember. It had been months since he´d complained about the absence of any nature sounds. They´d been at one of the street stalls near his university, the one that sold delicious ramen, getting their dinner, when the topic of sleep deprivation had surfaced. He had mused about how he had never realized all the sounds back in Iwatobi and how the traffic noises made sleeping harder.

Now he felt almost guilty for having forgotten about that when Haru clearly had remembered. Sometimes it was like that with him – some things stuck with Haru and he would just surprise Makoto in an unsuspected moment. One should think that he was already used to it, however Haru still managed to surprise him.

"That's wonderful!" Makoto said in excitement, his eyes lighting up. The truth was, he still wasn´t used to all the noises the night held here and he´d never liked dark nights alone anyways.

"My coach said it would help, so I tried and well," Haru shrugged, "it does."

At the last bit he glanced back at Makoto, the pink of his cheeks, if it ever had been there, gone.

Haru then unscrewed the lid of the water bottle, while Makoto placed the CD on the table next to his couch.

"Oh, we could play a game!" he said when he returned to Haru, who was still busy looking through his collection.

Picking a racing game out of the pile he added, "Remember how you always won at the rainbow course?"

A faked sigh left Haru as he answered "Just how should I forget how determined on winning you were?"

Chuckling Makoto entered the disc into the drive, throwing a second controller into Haru´s direction. "I think it´s time for revenge!"

Rolling his eyes Haru plodded over to the couch and took place next to Makoto.

"Don´t think I´m going to let you win because it´s your birthday."

The next two hours they spent in a riveting series of races over the unfortunate rainbow course, and oh boy, did Makoto hate this damned race track.

When Haru was long gone, back to his own apartment, Makoto sighed and stared into his empty again room. The warm feeling that had him possessed over the last hours slowly began to fade and other thoughts he had banished into the back of his mind crept back. How insane it seemed that he already missed Haru again. It had been good to just do something that simple together again, forgetting the world around him. He wished that they would´ve time for that more often.

He picked up the CD, for a moment just staring at the shimmering disc in its case.

As he went into bed he entered the CD into his player and soon was carried into sleep by the distant sound of waves and leaves rustling. His last thoughts before falling asleep were ' _I´m really glad that I´ve got Haru…'_


End file.
